Graduation
by mandaree1
Summary: A recounting of the tale of Betty's, Sparky's and X-5's graduation from the Galactic Guardian academy, which was surprisingly boring... But then again, is anything EVER boring for the trio? No flames!


**Disclaimer: I don't own Atomic Betty**

**Summary: A recounting of the tale of Betty's graduation from the Galactic Guardian academy, which was surprisingly boring... Unless you count X-5 almost having a meltdown over a speech... And Betty getting into a fight... And Sparky ruining the cake. **

**Warnings:... fluffy?**

**...**

"You look good, _chief_." Sparky thumbs-upped, the tailor stitching up his pant leg.

"Don't call me that." She snapped, then jumped. "Ouch! Be careful with that!"

The tailor, a woman with octopus-like features and a scrunched up face, rolled her eyes. She poked her with her needle again.

"Ouch!" Betty jumped again, then grimaced.

"Why wouldn't I call you chief?" Sparky shaped his hands into a picture frame. "You're gonna be the chief."

"I concur. With your grades you are certain to become leader of any star cruiser you acquire after graduation, _Captain_."

"_X-5_!" She groaned. "Not you too!" If robots could smile, he certainly would have. "I already told you, we're an all around equal team."

"You're valedictorian!" Sparky argued.

She shrugged. "Anyway, is it true that most people around here wait until the ceremony to pick their teams?"

"It's practically tradition." X-5 agreed.

"Boy, am I glad my teams already picked..." Sparky froze. "Uh, you did put our team into the registration database, right?"

"Of course. As soon as the ceremonies over and we have a supervisor, we can start our duties as Galactic Guardians. So lets_ try_ to leave a good impression on the superiors, alright?"

"Got it!"

"Agreed."

The Neutropian and human both jumped, exclaiming "Ouch!" Betty turned on the tailor. "You're doing this on purpose!"

She rolled her eyes. "No, really? It's not like I have anything _better_ to do then listen to a bunch of cadets blather on about graduation."

She crossed her arms and glowered at the wall. "And this is why I wanted the_ men's_ uniform."

Sparky rubbed his leg. "Owwww, it's not much better over here!" He snapped. "Man, I almost wish I didn't need this uniform."

"Almost?" Betty smiled.

He returned it. "Almost." He leaned over. "You're missing out, X-5, this things make you look _really_ snazzy."

He rolled his optics. "No thanks. I prefer to look un-snazzy."

* * *

"Captain, I am unsure I can do this." X-5 whined. Bolts and screws were spouting out of his head in nervousness, pelting his companions. Clamped in his pinchers were a few sheets of paper. "I'm not very good on stage."

"No kiddin'." Sparky grumbled, stepping back a few paces.

"X-5, calm down." Betty spoke firmly, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "You can do this."

"You have no facts to support that statement." X-5 started shaking. "This speech is to be presented in front of the _entire_ Galactic Guardian federation." He pointed out.

"_Relax_, you practiced this speech a billion times-"

"Actually, I practiced it 1,487,275.5 times."

"You know it by heart! You'll be just fine. Just take a deep breath, close your eyes, and focus on what you're reading, got it?"

He nodded. The bolts and screws slowed down a bit, but were still spouting. "I suspect a fifty percent chance this will end terribly, but I will do my best." He hovered towards the stage.

* * *

"See? That wasn't too hard, now was it?" Betty whispered, leaning over. The speech had gone off without a hitch, and he'd quickly zoomed back to his seat the moment the clapping stopped.

"My vocal patterns changed three times." He pointed out.

"So? It was _wonderful_."

"I don't know about wonderful..." Sparky broke in, smirking.

Betty elbowed him. "Sparky!"

"Omph! Hey hey, I was just kidding!" he raised his hands in defense. "Relax already. Yeesh." He grumbled to himeself. "Spoilsport."

"What was that!?"

"Nothing, chief, nothing!"

* * *

"Can I throw my hat _now_?"

"No."

A few seconds quiet. "How about now?"

"No!"

A minute. "Now?"

"Sparky!"

"... Now?"

She sighed. "Yes, now."

"Yahooo!" Hundreds of white hats flew into the air.

* * *

"Here." Sparky handed her a glass of punch. He scratched his head. "I think whoever's hat I got had fleas."

She winced. "I'm lucky I caught mine." She took a sip, watching the shifting crowd across from her. "So, think they've started looking for teams?"

"It seems so." X-5 yawned. "Thankfully, our team is pre-picked."

"I don't know about that." A lanky beast, tall but muscular (but not buff) stalked up. "I want Atomic Betty on_ my_ team."

She didn't turn. "I'm good."

"I'm valedictorian too." He bragged, spinning her chair (and herself) around. "I'd make a better teammate than either of these flunkies."

Sparky gritted his teeth. X-5 'hmphed' and crossed his arms. "Those _flunkies_ are my friends and future team. Go bother someone else."

He cracked his knuckles, trying to intimidate her. "And it's going to take a lot more than _that_ to scare me."

He frowned. "Let's dual. You win, I leave. I win, you join my crew."

Sighing, she lightly placed her glass down on the table. "_Fine_." She hopped off the chair.

* * *

At the leaders table, Admiral Degill turned to his neighbor. "What do you think of the graduating class?"

"The future will be bright with Guardians like these." Spindly Tam commented, taking a bite of his food.

"Agreed." He sipped at his punch. "Which one is your student?"

"Hmm..." He looked over the floor, spotting the quickly dispersing circle of people at the snack bar. "That one."

"The red-head?" He nodded. "She's... rather small of stature compared to her opponent. Will she be alright?"

The ancient master smiled. "She will be fine. Honestly, I fear for her opponent."

* * *

"Go chief!"

Slamming him onto his back, Betty brushed the dust off her gown. "You lost." She leaned down. "By the way, X-5 has the highest I.Q. ever achieved by a robot, and Sparky smoked you during the battle exercise last week. So much for flunkies, huh?"

"Sorry." He hung his head.

"You should be." She held out a hand, helped him up, then slid back into her chair. The crowd cheered.

* * *

"Amazing!" Admiral Degill disbelievingly stared at the red-head, the circle of aliens quickly dispersing back into a normal crowd as the challenger slunk off. "Such passion! Such ability! I haven't seen a battle like that in ages! I can't even seen a scratch on her!" He stood up. "I must speak with her! With that potential and ability, that girl could easily become the greatest Galactic Guardian of her time!"

Spindly tam smiled at the quickly retreating fish, taking another drink of from his glass before sitting back. His pupil had found her supervisor. His job was done.

* * *

"Great job chief!" Sparky complimented, refilling his glass. "You taught him what's what!"

She shrugged, inwardly grimacing at the nickname but quickly giving up on getting rid of it. It could be worse, right? She could be stuck on that guys team. "He made me mad."

He turned around, resting his back on the side of the table. He froze. "Uh-oh."

"What?" She turned to him. "What is it?"

"Er, hello there." A British accent broke in. She turned to find herself staring down at _the_ Admiral degill. "You're Spindly Tam's student, correct?"

"Admiral Degill, sir!?" She hopped off the chair and saluted, mentally preparing herself for the consequences of fighting during a party. Sparky and X-5 followed, Sparky gulped. X-5 began sweating nuts and bolts once again. "That's correct, sir."

He waved a fin. "No need for the formalities. Admiral will do nicely."

"Yes, sir, er, Admiral." She corrected, dropping the salute." She awkwardly held a hand out. "Betty, sir. Atomic Betty."

He took it. "I noticed your battle earlier, and I must say, I was very impressed. You're quite skilled for one your age. You're a valedictorian, correct?"

"Thank you, sir." She smiled. "I'm sorry if I made trouble."

"Not at all." He blew bubbles out of his pipe. "Tell me, do you have a supervisor yet?"

"No, sir. My team and I were planning on searching for one during the after-party."

"I see. Well, I do believe your search is over._ I'll_ be your supervisor." The trio jumped.

"Really, sir?" Betty squeaked. "Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." He turned to peer at her subordinates. "Is this your team?"

"That's us!" Sparky waved. "Pilot Sparky, at your service." He jokingly bowed.

"X-5." The robot droned.

He nodded. "I can't wait to see you on the battlefield. Now, I do believe the cake has arrived."

"Ooh! Cake!" Sparky bolted towards said desert.

"Oh no." Betty sighed. "Here we go again."

"This should be interesting." X-5 commented.

The cake was beautiful. Spongy, with multiple layers and professionally applied frosting, the school colors proudly standing out with the school expertly sculpted and placed on the top.

Grunting, the chef haphazardly placed the piece of art on the table. "There, perfect." He stated proudly.

"Kalllabunga!" Sparky leapt onto the structure, destroying the piece and spreading the sugary food all over the hall. Nothing was spared, the uniforms ruined, the good mood destroyed in place of laughter and irritation.

Sparky burst out of the mess, uniform plastered and face dripping. He awkwardly smiled at the glares. "Er, congrats?" Betty and X-5 face-palmed. In the background, the chief fell to his knees.

"My cake!"

"My uniform is ruined!" Degill complained, shaking off the excess. "Is he always like that?"

"Pretty much." Betty nodded, attempting to wring out her hat.

"Oh dear." He sighed. "What have I gotten myself into?"

* * *

Noah fell back on the bed, clutching his stomach. Betty smiled, snickering at the photo in hand. It was her and X-5, helping Sparky out of the mess of a cake, Admiral Degill watching from the sidelines.

"Was it really that bad?" He asked, attempting to control himself.

"It wasn't bad!" She defended. "It was... us."

"I hope _my_ Graduation isn't that bad." He admitted, looking over the pictures spread around the sheets. The trio standing together, the cake mess, Betty with her head in her hands.

"I don't know, things like that have a habit of blowing up in your face." She warned, gathering the pictures up and carefully putting them back into the scrapbook. "Besides, it wouldn't be fun if something didn't happen."

He groaned. She smiled. Some stories were always worth the embarrassment of sharing. Graduation was one of them.

**Review! No flames!**


End file.
